Port Orleans Riverside Free Dining or Polynesian Club Level

[TylerJ]

For four adults and a six -year-old would you choose two garden view rooms at POR with free dining or one room at Poly Club Level?

Also, two of the adults may end up not going. In that case would you choose Poly Club or POR free dining?

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Even considering the 5 in one room for us would depend on how close the adults are. We have stayed 5 to a room at the Poly with no problems, but the other "adults" are our kids. We would not do that with adults who are not our kids. We tried once with my in-laws and it was a hot mess.

As for Poly CL vs. POR w/FD, that is really a personal thing. We do not think that CL is worth the $$$, so we clearly would not choose that option.

 

[siestakeys04]

I would do two garden rooms.

 

[barbliny]

The more adults in the room, the more valuable club level becomes. The more time planned to be at the resorts, the more valuable club level becomes.

Unless, the other 2 adults are your children - I would be hesitant sharing a room.

If that is not the case, I would vote 2 Port Orleans rooms - no dining - if there is a room only discount available.

 

[barbliny]

Also, wanted to add that free dining makes it a package - your payment will be due 45 days (or it may be 30, I don't do packages) before arrival. If the other 2 adults in your 4-person port Orleans room may pull out after that time frame - you have a mess on your hands.

 

[caliope]

We'd choose Poly CL hands down but that would be for our family size (2 adults, 1 child). I don't think I could stay in a room with four adults and a child, no matter how close we are. But, having access to the CL lounge could help reduce the "crowded" feeling a little bit.

We enjoyed our POR stay but it doesn't compare to Poly for us. We also really enjoy CL. We like having access to the snacks/drinks throughout the day. Beer and wine is available from noon onward and that's a big plus for us. The breakfast options at CL (fruit, toast, oatmeal, coffee, yogurt) also match our usual morning meal preferences, so that was another bonus. We didn't have to go far to eat either!

We've never done free dining, or any dining plan, because we don't eat the way the plan is designed, so it doesn't make sense for us.

We also think the Poly location is far superior to POR. My DH does not like having to rely on buses so that's a negative for us.

Ultimately I think you should choose what makes the most sense for your traveling group.

 

[TylerJ]

We'd choose Poly CL hands down but that would be for our family size (2 adults, 1 child). I don't think I could stay in a room with four adults and a child, no matter how close we are. But, having access to the CL lounge could help reduce the "crowded" feeling a little bit.

We enjoyed our POR stay but it doesn't compare to Poly for us. We also really enjoy CL. We like having access to the snacks/drinks throughout the day. Beer and wine is available from noon onward and that's a big plus for us. The breakfast options at CL (fruit, toast, oatmeal, coffee, yogurt) also match our usual morning meal preferences, so that was another bonus. We didn't have to go far to eat either!

We've never done free dining, or any dining plan, because we don't eat the way the plan is designed, so it doesn't make sense for us.

We also think the Poly location is far superior to POR. My DH does not like having to rely on buses so that's a negative for us.

Ultimately I think you should choose what makes the most sense for your traveling group.

Thanks for the info. You're right. If the five of us go, we will get the two rooms, but it is looking more and more like it will just be two adults and one child. I've never stayed at Poly, but have stayed at GF and WL, and love both of them. We have also stayed at PORFQ and CBR. CBR is the only one we didn't like.

How are the club level rooms? I've been reading in several posts that they are worn looking. I was a little worried about that. The other thing that kind of bothers me is the photos I've seen of the bathroom because I noticed the toilet is in the same area as the mirrors/sinks.

 

[caliope]

How are the club level rooms? I've been reading in several posts that they are worn looking. I was a little worried about that. The other thing that kind of bothers me is the photos I've seen of the bathroom because I noticed the toilet is in the same area as the mirrors/sinks.

We've stayed club level and non-club level; the rooms are the same. I do feel that the furniture is a tad worn around the edges but it never detracted from our stays. Given the number of guests these rooms host, I can't see how it's avoidable.

Our CL room was garden view. We requested third floor and had a balcony that overlooked the Oasis pool. It was lovely for our needs - it let us sit outside in peaceful surroundings. Our previous stay was in a TPV room not CL in the Tuvalu longhouse. We had a third floor room there too, so our balcony looked straight over the lagoon. It was really beautiful but we agreed later that, for us, if we're going to pay extra, we'd choose CL garden view over non-CL TPV.

We were not in the least bothered by the sinks being in the bathroom with the toilet and tub/shower. That's how our bathrooms are at home. And it's typical of non-Disney hotels we've stayed at (and we travel a lot). We just planned our morning routine accordingly.

 

[karm12]

Stayed CL before and never saw the value compared to non-CL. I would rather have the space, but it might also depend on how long your trip is.

 

[Stitch'sCousin]

We have stayed a few time at both of your choices. For our longer park stays (7-8 nights) we did Poly CL and really enjoyed it. The lounge is a great place to relax outside of your room if other people are resting, having a shower etc. The food and drinks in the lounge are good too. We did Poly CL with free dining so we still had a quick service lunch and sit-down supper every day. The lounge offerings are not really meant to be meal replacements so you may want to factor in those expenses too. While Poly CL is great, I would go with 2 rooms at POR if you travel with 2 people outside of your immediate family. When we come back from a DCL cruise and want to extend the Disney feeling without going into the parks, we spend 2-3 nights at POR. The rooms there are smaller, but we are always travelling with our own 3 kids so we don't mind. We enjoy the atmosphere and pools at POR, and we will be there again this summer for 3 nights.